The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency joined Delta Faucet Co., and Bell Plumbing & Heating to provide Renaissance 88 Apartments, a Colorado Coalition for the Homeless apartment building in Thornton, CO with a water-saving makeover. The retrofits and leak repairs taken at the apartment complex will save 560,000 gallons of water per year, enough to fill fifty backyard swimming pools.

The Environmental Protection Agency asked nine natural gas companies Thursday to voluntarily disclose the chemical components used in a drilling technique called hydraulic fracturing.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing a new permit requirement that would decrease the amount of pesticides discharged to U.S. federal waters. The action is in response to an April 9, 2009 appeals court decision that found that pesticide discharges to U.S. waters are pollutants, and so they require a permit under the Clean Water Act.

The U.S. EPA announced the start today of a study examining the effects of a controversial oil and gas production technique known as hydraulic fracturing on water supplies. "Our research will be designed to answer questions about the potential impact of hydraulic fracturing on human health and the environment," EPA Assistant Administrator Paul Anastas said in a statement.

Ordinarily, it's a no-brainer for the Legislature to approve an annual bill that accepts hundreds of millions of dollars from the federal government for water projects. But not Friday in the House. The federal government puts up the money in low-interest loans as long as the state pays for a fifth of the costs and the state Legislature OKs the projects on the list.